A day before Al’s birthday. A lot has changed in the last two months. We’ve moved across the country, found a place to live, are starting a new life in the Midwest. I’ve taken a bit of a break from posting anything online, as life in the round has taken centre stage for a while. But things are settling down now, as much as they can. We are beginning our life of “projects”, which I suspect will last until… forever.

The greatest joy I have found is in the quiet things. Sitting under a birch tree, listening to the wind in the leaves. The sunsets. Every night here there seems to be another, even more intense sunset. The whole sky becomes one big rainbow. The sunrises! When dear Tan wakes me at 5am, sometimes I can see the sun peaking over the treetops through the bathroom window. Listening to the birds sing. There was a pair of robins who made a nest in the bush outside. They had four little chicks hatch in there and they would all sit with their beaks in the air.